For Spring program ONLY: U16-U19 Boys and Girls can receive a full refund (less processing fees) if they make a high school soccer team if they notify the relevant director in writing by Jthe 3rd Monday of January.

The $109-$145 registration fee cover the costs of officials, concessions, field development, field equipment, insurance and affiliation with governing bodies.

AGE GROUPS

All age groups will be split into boys and girls.

GSA NORTH PLAY-UP POLICY

Gwinnett Soccer Academy strongly encourages players to play in his or her proper age-group in all recreational programs, as we do not promote “play-ups” in any division. Requiring players to play in their correct age-group is best for technical development, instilling a passion and understanding of the game, social development and limiting physical and psychological differences that are magnified during the adolescent years. Playing in the proper age-group also develops stronger, fairer teams in each age division. For special circumstances, GSA will grant a play-up on a case by case basis. Inquiries about play-ups should be emailed to the Rec Director, Kevin Scheiwe (kevin@gsasoccer.com).

To be considered for a play-up, each season, players/parents must:

Request an evaluation (the prior season) in his or her natural game environment

Pay a $15 non-refundable play-up fee

Complete the play-up application form

Evaluation:

All new play-up requests require a player evaluation, which should be done the previous season. All applicants will be evaluated on several different attributes (physical, technical, cognitive and psychosocial) by the GSA staff.

Players who are granted a play-up must complete the play-up application and submit the $15 non-refundable fee, each season. Only one initial evaluation will be required. Additional evaluations will be at the discretion of the GSA staff.

UNIFORMS AND EQUIPMENT

UNIFORMS: The uniform fee is roughly $70 for youth sizes and $75 for adult sizes (shipping and handling is additional). This fee will provide two PUMA soccer jerseys, one pair of PUMA shorts and one pair of socks for each player. Extra shorts, socks, and jerseys will be available for purchase if needed.

Important: Fall 2019 begins a new uniform cycle at GSA. ALL GSA players will have to purchase new PUMA uniforms. These uniforms will be good for four seasons (through Spring 2021).

GSA uniforms are provided by Soccer.com. After you’ve registered, you’ll receive an email from Soccer.com stating it’s time to order your uniform. Click on the link within the email and you’ll be taken directly to Soccer.com’s website.

Email links will be sent within 2 weeks of completion of your registration. Please make certain your email address is accurate when you register your player.

Once you’ve placed your order the uniform will be delivered directly to you. Orders placed after Feb 1 for the spring season or August 1 for the fall season, may experience delivery delays.

We would like to encourage you to purchase a membership to their rewards program, "The Goal Club". Earn points for free gear anytime you purchase a uniform, equipment, or ANYTHING else on their website. We are excited to offer you the flexibility to order your child's uniform when it's most convenient for you! No more waiting in lines or wondering when your uniform will arrive!

EQUIPMENT:Shin guards are mandatory for practice and games for all players. Players must provide their own shin guards and soccer ball. Sizes of soccer balls needed: 4U- 8Uage groups use size #3, 9U - 13U age groups use size #4, and 14U and older use size #5.

GAMES, PRACTICES AND SCHEDULES

GAMES:For the majority of our recreation teams, games will be played on Saturdays (4U - 13U). For our older RIAS (14U and up) teams, games are frequently played on Saturdays and Sundays. GSA does reserve the right to schedule games on Sundays and during the week for all age groups, if deemed necessary.

PRACTICES:Practices are held Monday through Friday. Unfortunately, we do not take requests for specific days, times or siblings' practice.

GSA North is rapidly running out of space. Although, this is a great problem to have as we continue to grow; we have to become more creative and stricter with our practice schedules. Coaches get to pick their practice days and times, so we do not know when coaches will practice till after teams have been formed. We want to be flexible to our coaches first, as they are volunteering their time and have busy schedules just like the rest of us. We will try to work with families who have practice conflicts, but we cannot make any guarantees.

SCHEDULES: The practice schedule is put together by GSA staff members, based on each Coach's request. This usually doesn't occur till 2 weeks prior to the first week of practice. Game schedules are usually completed within two of the first games. RIAS teams must wait on state approved schedules to be released.

7U SOCCER: All 7U recreation teams will practice once a week with their team coach, then will have the opportunity to participate in a bi-weekly pool training session, which will be ran by GSA North's professional staff coaches. The 7U pool training will be an optional session for the players. The program will help ease the transition from 6U, where players practice only once a week, to 7U, where throw-ins and corners are just some of the new parts of the game at this age-group. The pool training will focus on an array of age-appropriate technical and tactical skills, following the best practices of player development, which is supported by the USSF and NSCAA. The pool training sessions will be for all 7U players at no additional cost.

COACH AND TEAM REQUESTS

GSA North does NOT take team placement requests for any reason, other than for siblings playing within the same division (and gender) who may request to be on the same team. First and foremost we strive to create balanced teams based on number of seasons a child has played; child's ability; and age. We have found this to be consistent with other leagues' policies as well. Georgia Soccer Rules prohibit any player to play "down" and age group.

COACHING

The recreational teams are coached by parents and volunteers. The only requirement is that our volunteers have a love for working with kids, enjoy helping kids and have a desire to be involved in the lives of children! Soccer experience is not a coaching requirement! There are many educational resources that can show the way. Our coaches are encouraged to get coaching licenses, which help coaches learn how to coach and what is age-appropriate. GSA strives to place every child on a team who wants to play, but we can only form as many teams as we have coaches for. Not only do we support our volunteer coaches, the success of the club relies heavily on families volunteering! The volunteer coach is one of the most integral parts of Gwinnett Soccer Academy and we value their dedication and commitment to ensuring that our kids are safe and having fun.

TEAM FORMATION

Each fall season GSA North will create new teams as players move up into new age-groups. It is the intention of GSA North to keep recreation teams together for both fall and spring seasons as players will remain in their age-group for both seasons (one school year). All players that register in a timely manner should remain on the same team in the spring. Exceptions would be: late registration, parent request for a different team, no returning coach, etc. When creating new teams each fall, rosters are based on several factors, including number of seasons played in order to help create balanced teams. Registration will be closed when we have filled each coach’s team. Players are accepted into the program on a first come, first served basis. Please remember GSA North does not take coaching or team request due to the large number of members playing recreation soccer. Volunteer coaches and assistants with kids playing will have their own children placed on their team. This is the only way to guarantee two players to be placed on the same team together.

OTHER INFORMATION

PLAYER COMMITMENT

The majority of our recreational teams will practice twice a week, with a game on the weekend. Our youngest age groups, U5 and U6 only practice once a week, with a game on the weekend. Our U4’s (Soccer Starts) will have 1 session a week. There are also several other optional training programs for players looking for additional training opportunities. Fall seasons start in August and will run to mid/late November. Spring season starts in February and runs into May.

REFUNDS

No refunds will be given unless approved by the Gwinnett Soccer Academy board of directors. All refund requests must be put in writing and submitted by July 30 (fall season) or Jan 30 (spring season) with explanation by the parent. Please submit refund requests via email to the director. All refunds are subject to a $10 administrative fee. Refund checks will be sent out after the third week of the season.

For Spring 2020: 16U-19U Boys and Girls can receive a full refund (less processing fees) if they make a high school soccer team if they notify the relevant director in writing by the 3rd Monday of January

GSA will charge a $25 fee for all returned checks.

ACCEPTANCE/WAIT LIST

Once we have ample number of players and coaches in each age-group, we will begin accepting players during our registration process. The number of players that we can accept is based directly on the number of coaches that apply. We will continue to accept players throughout the registration period (January/February for spring, July/August for fall) all the way up to the first games. Parents will receive an email from the registration system informing them of their players' status. In the meantime, players who register, but do not get accepted right away will be placed on the “wait list”. Just because a child is placed on the wait list does not mean he/she will NOT get to play. Players can be accepted all the way up to the first weekend of games. We do a great job each season minimizing the wait list and maximizing the number of players and teams in every age-group.

By being "accepted", your player is guaranteed a spot on a team. Once regular registration ends, we will begin our team formation process. Players will be contacted by their coach approximately 2 weeks prior to the first practice, which is when practice days and times will be given out to players/parents.